After suffering digestion issues and bloating during the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, founder Jeff Vierling decided to make his own “secret weapon.” The result, which he’s now commercialized, is Tailwind, and it’s supposedly light enough in flavor to still be palatable even after hours on the bike. They also say it mixes easily and rinses clean, making it perfect for hydration packs.

In addition to the taste profile, the idea was to create something that provided all the energy and electrolytes you’d need so you don’t have to fumble with gels, pills or chews.

The story behind it is good marketing. No matter how many of those sports drinks I try I still get the bloat or post ride dia-blast every couple weeks. I usually rotate Cytomax, GU brew, roctane and my own concoctions. I’d try this tailwind stuff. The black package is odd, it seems more like a protein package.

First off, thanks for your sense of humor. We came up with the name Tailwind Endurance Fuel while on the Hermosa Creek Trail in Durango, CO (where we’re from). We joked about taglines like “Blow away your competition”, but we were actually thinking of that nice push you get when a tailwind hits your back. At the time, we had no idea that Tailwind Sports even existed or had some connection to Lance Armstrong.

As for “industrial products people”, we’re just endurance athletes who couldn’t find anything on the market that worked for us. Stomach problems, cramping, a gagging reflex (because drinks out on the market are just way too sweet for long rides and you stop drinking), you name it…it was a total bummer to invest countless hours (and money) into preparing for an event just to have it end miserably because our fueling options weren’t working. We originally created it for ourselves, and then friends started asking for it, then acquaintances (you get the picture).

We only put in Tailwind what will help your performance: calories (dextrose/glucose+sucrose), electrolytes, and organic flavoring. That’s it. And, we have customers running with Tailwind for 24 hours straight – that’s the real proof.

I just tried this and rode my mountain bike like never before. I perspire heavily and was always trying to play catch up. Gels- Gatorade -coconut water – bananas you name it and I tried it and always seem to bonk out. I tried this today rode two hours eighteen minutes and felt as if I had done nothing. This is my first review ever left on the web. I bought it after reading a few and I wanted to stop being selfish and contribute this item is all it claims to be !

I tried Tailwind for the first time this past summer training for a 24 hour endurance event held in Moab, UT. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it exceeded my expectations. I always have gotten stomach cramps and a sensation of oncoming diarrhea (never experienced it though) during most of my events that go past 2 hours. I used Tailwind for 80-90% of my calories during up to 8 hour races and guess what? My stomach has never felt so great. I guess I’m sold. I used to rely mostly on Hammer Nutrition products, Melon was my favorite flavor of Heed, Gu Chomps, gels, chews, waffles, etc, but I think the Orange flavored Tailwind has officially replaced most of it. I found switching to the caffeinated berry after the 8 hour mark works great and gives a pretty good boost to your energy.

About Us

Bikerumor.com is the world’s largest cycling tech blog. Our passion is the products, technology and people that make them. We cover the shiny new things, with in-depth interviews and detailed stories about how the bicycles and components work, plus reviews to see if they live up to the hype. We love learning the technology and celebrating innovation at every level -from crowdfunded start ups to major global brands- and sharing it all here with you!

Want to Contribute?We’re always looking for enthusiastic, positive and talented writers that know their way around both a bicycle and sentence structure. We're also looking for a good Sales person to help grow our business